Starting a coop build, it is my first build and first chickens so feedback is very welcome

[saysfaa]

Roof.
Why to install a drip edge and why to overhang it a bit. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...704A77E35F2BAA8DE99C704A77E35F2B&&FORM=VDRVSR

How to install a drip edge except he didn't say anything about overhanging it. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...A4965320FB44AA77F56AA4965320FB44AA7&FORM=VIRE

Some talk about a membrane under the drip edge which is under the roofing felt. We aren't doing that; it's just a shed.

How to install a ridge vent. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...FAC935EB0DFECC34E5C3FAC935EB0DFEC&FORM=VDRVRV
And that product is $150 for 4' (doesn't seem right, maybe I'm missing something.) Not doing that. But cobra SnowCountry is reasonable.

 

[saysfaa]

The shed is home.

We dug up the site to get the top soil for the raised bed for the tomatoes. And to level it. It is about 4" higher on one end than the other (over the 14' length of the shed). It is down about six inches. I would like to go a little deeper over all and maybe sink posts to below the frost line. I'm also ready to be done with it; dirt is heavy one shovelful at a time. Either way, then level it, tamp it, lay landscape paper and fill it with sand. I'm still not sure whether to put one end under ground level or raise the other end above ground level or a little of each.

We put 30 lb tar paper on the roof this morning. And drip edges on all four sides this afternoon. We spray painted the edges that went under and behind the drip edge. It looks a little funny because the "gray" I picked was actually silver. And the half can we had left from another project was sparkly silver. We decided it doesn't matter because everything visible will be covered when the rest of the shed gets painted. The rest of the roof is still to do.

The blackjack 57 is upside down to start mixing while I wait for better weather. That will go on the floor. I wanted to put it under the tar paper but the weather didn't cooperate and it became more important to get the tar paper on sooner. That was probably overkill, anyway.

The shed is really slapped together. I'll be doing a LOT of rehab on it. All the wood is rough sawn... that part I don't mind, I like having a full 2" instead of nominal 2", for one thing. But there are quite a few splits, not much lines up well... some off by over an inch, and so on. There are no fly rafters, we wedged a pole under the overhang at each nail to put the drip edge on, sigh. And the fascia is beyond the roof deck with makes it really hard to put the drip edge on besides not supporting the roof deck and having gaps.

I wanted to take the fascia off, cut back the rafters and reattach the facia but got overruled. And we needed the tar paper on. The nails holding the drip edge on also hold the tar paper on. I doubt the pros do it that way but it the edges are so sketchy, we wanted to minimize the number of nails we put anywhere near the edge.

I don't yet know whether I can add some sort of fly rafters.

My sister has built a dozen or so houses; she recommends Dunham's water putty as a wood filler. I plan to use that for the gaps. I'm working on what paint to use. So far, exterior acrylic primer looks like the best choice for raw wood and for rough sawn and for wood with knots but I'm not sure. I do know I want solid color rather than transparent stain.

 

[junior67]

Can't wait to see it! I just went with an exterior paint and primer and it worked well. I did 2 coats on the plain wood and it worked.

 

[3KillerBs]

The shed is home.

We dug up the site to get the top soil for the raised bed for the tomatoes. And to level it. It is about 4" higher on one end than the other (over the 14' length of the shed). It is down about six inches. I would like to go a little deeper over all and maybe sink posts to below the frost line. I'm also ready to be done with it; dirt is heavy one shovelful at a time. Either way, then level it, tamp it, lay landscape paper and fill it with sand. I'm still not sure whether to put one end under ground level or raise the other end above ground level or a little of each.

We put 30 lb tar paper on the roof his morning. And drip edges on all four sides this afternoon. We spray painted the edges that went under and behind the drip edge. It looks a little funny because the "gray" I picked was actually silver. And the half can we had left from another project was sparkly silver. We decided it doesn't matter because everything visible will be covered when the rest of the shed gets painted. The rest of the roof is still to do.

The blackjack 57 is upside down to start mixing while I wait for better weather. That will go on the floor. I wanted to put it under the tar paper but the weather didn't cooperate and it became more important to get the tar paper on sooner. That was probably overkill, anyway.

The shed is really slapped together. I'll be doing a LOT of rehab on it. All the wood is rough sawn... that part I don't mind, I like having a full 2" instead of nominal 2", for one thing. But there are quite a few splits, not much lines up well... some off by over an inch, and so on. There are no fly rafters, we wedged a pole under the overhang at each nail to put the drip edge on, sigh. And the facia is beyond the roof deck with makes it really hard to put the drip edge on besides not supporting the roof deck and having gaps.

I wanted to take the facia off, cut back the rafters and reattach the facia but got overruled. And we needed the tar paper on. The nails holding the drip edge on also hold the tar paper on. I doubt the pros do it that way but it the edges are so sketchy, we wanted to minimize the number of nails we put anywhere near the edge.

I don't yet know whether I can add some sort of fly rafters.

My sister has built a dozen or so houses; she recommends Dunham's water putty as a wood filler. I plan to use that for the gaps. I'm working on what paint to use. So far, exterior acrylic primer looks like the best choice for raw wood and for rough sawn and for wood with knots but I'm not sure. I do know I want solid color rather than transparent stain.

Photos? Please?

 

[saysfaa]

The first is where it is going. Almost all the sod was dug up but almost none of the topsoil was taken away yet.

The next are some of the inside the first time I opened it.

The last is just before dark last night. Oh, we left a stick up there, that is from when we considered temporarily clamping the edge of the tarpaper instead of getting the drip edge on yesterday.

 

[saysfaa]

Foundation
I don't recommend doing the foundation they way we did... even if you skip the design changes. I think it will work, just not as well as other options and it took forever and a half.

I dug the rest of the topsoil out, leveled the bottom, laid 4x4's to go under the skids of the shed.

And dug the 4x4's back out. Ugh. We changed the design to cement blocks under the skids. We spent hours placing the flags to get the footprint exactly right. The width (front, back and middle) is exactly 10'3" wide. The length (north, south, and center) is exactly 14'3". The diagonals are within an 8th of an inch of each other. Then we dug down through the sand to the landscape fabric ten times to place three cement blocks under the each of the side skids and four under the center skid. The center of each cement block is within a half inch of the exactly center of where the skid will go but they vary on where east/west they go to put more support under the doors and under where the greater weight of the stored items is likely to be. Each block is exactly level with the plane that slopes just barely from north to south and from west to east.

Then we packed a couple of inches of clay around the bottom of each cement block and are filling everything with sand. The sand is wet, so it is packing pretty well. The internet says sand doesn't pack but that isn't exactly true (think sand castles at the beach). It is practically true for many construction purposes but we basically have a tub (as in support on all sides) and thoughly wet sand.

I have retainer wall blocks to bring the sides up to grade. I plan to place them tomorrow and finish filling the space with sand.

The first picture was as I was burying the 4x4's that later came out. The rest are as the cement blocks were placed and fill put around them. The 4x4's in all but the first picture are just to check the level in all directions.

 

[saysfaa]

Oh, and two coats of blackjack are on the floor. And one coat on the tops of the rafters and on the exposed edge of the roof decking where the ridge vent will go.

The corner of one sheet of plywood in the middle of the floor broke. We are planning to lay 1/2 inch plywood over the existing floor. And to ask the builder to screw a piece of 2x4 to the nearest joist to support it better. And the same in another place that gives too much. The builder should be able to do that when he moves the shed over.

A storm pulled some of the edges of the tar paper up, so we threw poles and boards on top of the roof. If that doesn't keep any more from pulling up, we will redo the tar paper. We should get the shingles and ridge vent done by Saturday night, if the weather cooperates.

 

[saysfaa]

Windows
It is pretty easy to get a general idea of what to do and how to do it. I'm finding it not so easy to actually decide on the details.

The window itself can be done later. I just need to allow for it while putting the hardware cloth on. So, the hwc needs to be either exterior or tight to the interior to give room within the studs for the window since my plan is for the windows to swing up to the inside. The wall sheathing is not flush on the outside because of the battens. They could be cut and an outside frame added. That seems like a lot of work and risk of botching the job. So inside it is.

I could fasten it directly to the sheathing or framing. I would rather be able to remove it more easily. And would rather minimize the number of holes through or into the sheathing, especially, and framing somewhat. So, I need to basically make (or find) a window frame to "screen" with the hwc.

Options: screws with washers, sandwich method, staples

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/you-only-need-staples.1103994/ (Thank you, https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-mod-coop.74256/ for the link)
Even if I don't use staples... I didn't know to use stainless steel instead of galvanized fasteners until I read the above.

more later, this is to put info where I can find it more easily than the "watch" feature.

 

[3KillerBs]

my plan is for the windows to swing up to the inside.

Better to swing the windows to the outside from top hinges so that the window itself acts as your rain awning.

I just read this article on making secure supports for the open windows this morning. :https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/window-support-for-top-hinged-windows.74810/

 

[saysfaa]

Thank you very much for the feed back and link to a great idea for windows! I think that might work better for my door holder than my current plan for a pvc-pipe-and-golf-ball, certainly easier to make.

As for the in or out. Since I'm not planning to close the window until late fall, I would rather accept some rain coming in than dodge a window sticking out all the time. It shouldn't be much coming in as we very rarely get a driving rain, especially from the east. And the window will last much longer if it is protected from the weather (I have wooden windows). The chickens have plenty of room to get out of the way of the rain if they want to. I think the awning aspect is a great idea for a lot of setups.